130 results about "Hybrid fibre-coaxial" patented technology

A full service cable television system and method are provided. The system comprises a cable headend, at least one fiber transport, at least one distribution hub, at least one hybrid fiber coax plant, and a plurality of set-top terminals. The system delivers television programs, advanced cable services, and online services. Programs and services are transmitted to the set-top terminals in both digital and analog formats to maintain downward compatibility with existing systems. The set-top terminal includes a central processing unit, a unified memory architecture, a memory management unit, communications circuitry, I/O control circuitry, and audio and video output circuitry. Through these components, the set-top terminal provides advanced cable services such as a comprehensive channel navigator, an interactive program guide, impulse Pay-Per-View, Near-Video-On-Demand and Video-On-Demand programming, and advanced configuration controls. The set-top terminal also provides online services such as World Wide Web browsing, Internet e-mail, and home shopping.

Embodiments of the present invention exploit the existing capabilities of the Ethernet Passive Optical Network (EPON) MAC layer, designed for fiber optics communications, to provide a low cost MAC layer with upper layer connectivity over a hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) network. In particular, embodiments allow for the EPON MAC to be used end-to-end (i.e., from an optical line terminal (OLT) to a coaxial network unit (CNU)) in a HFC network, thereby fully leveraging the packet processing capabilities, QoS functions, and management features of the EPON MAC. Furthermore, embodiments enable unified provisioning and management for both fiber and coaxial network units in a HFC network.

An ultra-wideband pulse modulation system and method is provided. One method of the present invention includes transforming data into a ternary data set with data being represented with states of zero, positive one and negative one. The modulation and pulse transmission method of the present invention enables the simultaneous coexistence of the ultra-wideband pulses with conventional carrier-wave signals. The present invention may be used in wireless and wired communication networks such as hybrid fiber-coax networks. This Abstract is provided for the sole purpose of complying with the Abstract requirement rules that allow a reader to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the disclosure contained herein. This Abstract is submitted with the explicit understanding that it will not be used to interpret or to limit the scope or the meaning of the claims.

A modular Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS) includes a packet shelf operating a Data Over Cable Service Interface Specifications (DOCSIS) Media Access Control (MAC) framer. One or more downstream Physical Interface (PHY) shelves receive DOCSIS data from the packet shelf over a packet switched network and modulate the DOCSIS data for sending on a downstream path of a cable plant. One or more upstream PHY shelves send DOCSIS data received from an upstream path of the cable plant over the packet switched network to the packet shelf. By separating the PHY components from the MAC and from the system software, the PHY components for a Hybrid Fiber Coax (HFC) plant may be replaced with different PHY components for other access technologies such as wireless, Digital Subscriber Lines (DSL), Ethernet-to-the-Home, Fiber-to-the-Home, or fiber Passive Optical Networks (PONs).

An apparatus for testing a video stream received at a subscriber site includes a coupling for receiving broadband RF signals communicated over a hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) network, a signal level measurement circuit operably coupled to the coupling, the signal level measurement operable to generate signal level measurements regarding a first set of the broadband RF signals received through the coupling, a communication circuit operable to obtain a stream of video data packets from a second set of broadband RF signals received through the coupling, a processing circuit operably connected to the communication circuit, the processing circuit operable to receive signal level measurements from the signal level measurement circuit and to generate diagnostic data corresponding to the second set of broadband RF signals, the processing circuit further operable to communicate information representative of the signal level measurements and the diagnostic data in human-perceptible form. The apparatus may be housed within a portable unit for transportation to subscriber sites throughout an HFC network.

A method and system are disclosed for enabling full-service communications between a full-service cable modem termination system (fsCMTS) and a plurality of full-service cable modems (fsCMs) for a conventional two way hybrid fiber-coax (HFC) cable television network. Full-service communications include data, voice and video. Video includes broadcast quality MPEG-2 transport packet streams and Internet protocol media streams. A multi-channel full-service media-access-control (fsMAC) coordinates the access to the shared upstream and downstream channels. Several MAC management messages are defined to enable a multi-channel full-service MAC domain to facilitate sharing of an arbitrary number of channels and to enable packet-by-packet true seamless channel change. Multiple upstream channels can be used in various ways to best optimize the use of the spectrum for meeting the quality-of-services needed by different services.

First and second test devices communicatively coupled to a hybrid fiber/coax (HFC) plant are operative for transmitting data packets of a simulated Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone call therebetween without the use of a physical telephone at either test device. Each test device is operative for analyzing data packets received or transmitted thereby and for transmitting its analysis of the received or transmitted data packets to a call management system and a test controller.

A system and method for enabling voice-activated access to networks, including voice-based navigation and data communication. This incorporates an integrated method utilizing both hardware and software located inside the network "cloud", which enables easy, intuitive access service connectivity to independent service providers and to other network users and resources, in both single and multiple networks. Further embodiments of the present invention include implementations with other different types of networks (ISDN or SS7 option). The present invention, or Access Service Connectivity Platform, may be integrated into but not limited to commonly distributed circuit switched networks, Intelligent Network infrastructures, VoIP networks, wireless networks, and HFC (Hybrid Fiber Coax) networks.

An apparatus for use in a hybrid fiber coax (HFC) network provides the HFC forward path spectrum from the head end to a network fiber node. The apparatus includes a head end modulator. The modulator directly receives a switchable digital data signal and internally processes the switchable digital data signal to produce the HFC forward path spectrum that directly drives the node. The HFC forward path spectrum may be directly converted to an analog optical signal by the modulator itself or by an optical conversion device immediately following the modulator.

The present invention provides systems and methods for digitally certifying and monitoring a hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) cable plant. The present invention may be used to automate the characterization of the upstream and/or downstream channels of the cable plant and provide a path for establishing a performance baseline for the cable plant. After certification of the plant, the present invention provides for monitoring of cable plant performance and the use of a performance baseline to provide warnings and alerts prior to system downtime. The present invention also discloses cable plant characterization and monitoring functions being provided from a single site to a plurality of remote cable plant operators.

Systems, methods and apparatus are provided for bridging data between different communication formats, or protocols. One embodiment of the present invention comprises a communication system that bridges data between a substantially continuous carrier wave format and an ultra-wideband format. The present invention may be used in wireless and wire communication networks such as hybrid fiber-coax-networks. This Abstract is provided for the sole purpose of complying with the Abstract requirement rules that allow a reader to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the disclosure contained herein. This Abstract is submitted with the explicit understanding that it will not be used to interpret or to limit the scope or the meaning of the claims.

A method and apparatus for allocating upstream channel resources in a hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) network are provided. A cable modem termination system (CMTS) previously provides cable modems (CMs) with a plurality of burst profiles through an extended interval usage code (IUC) of an upstream channel descriptor (UCD) message, and allocates resources to CMs by using an optimized burst profile according to an upstream channel status, thereby increasing transmission efficiency of an upstream channel.

Systems, apparatus and methods are provided for bridging data to and from different communication physical layers and protocols. The present invention comprises a communication system structured to “bridge” between conventional, narrowband carrier wave communication technology and ultra-wideband communication technology. The present invention may be used in wireless and wire communication networks such as hybrid fiber-coax networks. This Abstract is provided for the sole purpose of complying with the Abstract requirement rules that allow a reader to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the disclosure contained herein. This Abstract is submitted with the explicit understanding that it will not be used to interpret or to limit the scope or the meaning of the claims.

Provided is a communications system including a first segment configured to (i) serve one or more end users and (ii) utilize analog signals modulated to carry digital data. The communications system also includes a second segment connectable to a headend, a protocol configured to control communication of data between the end users and the headend, and a first device configured to (i) connect the coaxial cable segment and the digital fiber-optic segment, the first device terminating the modulation and (ii) communicate over the digital fiber-optic segment to a second device. The second device is located at the headend and configured to perform other functions in accordance with the protocol.

Provided is an apparatus for implementing an electro-optical cable distribution network in which a coaxial cable is replaced with an optical cable in order to provide a service integrating broadcast data and communication data by solving a frequency constraint problem in a cable television (CATV) network employing a conventional hybrid-fiber coaxial (HFC) network architecture. The apparatus includes an optical network unit (ONU) which converts a downstream signal received from a system operator (SO) into an optical signal and transmits the optical signal to an optical cable; and an optical cable modem which receives the optical downstream signal from the ONU and converts the received signal into an electrical signal. In addition, the ONU and the optical cable modem control signal quality of an optical path.

A method, and a system of mitigating interference effects under a communication environment including a first spread spectrum (SS) transmission scheme and a second spread spectrum (SS) transmission scheme in the same frequency band are proposed in this present invention. Firstly, responsive to a received signal, output number of signal of the first SS transmission scheme and the second SS transmission scheme. Secondly, retrieve the timing, phase and amplitude information of signals of the first SS transmission scheme in the received signal, and the timing, phase and amplitude information of signals of the second SS transmission scheme. Generate a plurality of linearly-modulated signals based on a predetermined manner, correlate the received signal based on the plurality of linearly-modulated signals to generate a correlated outputs. Finally, selectively produce an estimated information sequence carried by the signals of the first SS transmission scheme and the signals of the second SS transmission scheme based on the correlated outputs in another predetermined manner. Such a method and a system not only extend the ability of conventional linear multi-user detection to the FH-CDMA (frequency hopping code division multiple access) and the DS-FH-CDMA (direct sequence and frequency hopping code division multiple access) multi-user communications systems, but also remove the limitations of the conventional linear multi-user detection on linearly modulated signals. In addition, the multi-user synchronizers proposed in this invention, which estimate the received timings, phases, and amplitudes of the interfering and the desired spread spectrum signals with feasible complexity, further complete the interference suppression communications system. This invention is applicable to various environments. For example: the source of DSSS signals could be derived from the IEEE 802.11b devices or perhaps the IEEE 802.15.3 devices; the source of FHSS signals could be derived from the IEEE 802.15.1 (Bluetooth) devices or the HomeRF devices. Moreover, this invention is not limited to the wireless communications as it is equally applicable to the optical communications systems (e.g. the HFC (hybrid-fiber-coax) networks) and the wired communications systems.